Haven's Nightmare
by CaptainS10
Summary: AU; only the first book happened. It's three years after Artemis kidnapped Holly, when he comes up with another scheme involving the People. He quickly throws it into action, bringing it to the attention of the People. But his plan for Haven is bigger than it seems, and what happens when he takes the LEP's best officer? A bad situation gets worse. Likely AH.
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, so, new story! I was actually writing for BATBDS when I came up with this. . .I should really watch what I have people say. XD At any rate, this is an AU, only the first book happened. Arty is up to his evil schemes again. . . I'd say figure out what it is but it's pretty much stated in here. . .but don't let me fool you. Fowl's whole plot is a lot bigger than what it looks like. ;)**

**PS: I combined the prologue and chapter 1 because of how short the prologue is. Thought that would be better. And fair warning: chapter 1, it jumps right into the action. **

Prologue

Artemis Fowl the second sat back in his black padded chair, thumbing gently through the pages of the book in his lap. It was not just any book, either. It was The fairy bible.

He had taken it out to read through it another time because of the beginnings of a plan rooting in his mind. He had successfully kidnapped a fairy and held it for ransom, almost three years ago now, so his first venture with the People was over. His next one had yet to begin. However, he did not plan to jump back into a conflict with these people without brushing up on them a little beforehand. Hints the reason the book was out now.

It was about another half hour before he finished reading the Book. After that, he knew mostly what he wanted to do, but he decided to meditate on it and put the finishing touches on his plan before proceeding any further. Getting up and going over to his bed, he sat down in lotus position and did just that.

Two hours later, he opened his eyes and grinned. Now his plan had the final touches on it, and all he had to do was put it into action.

1.

Holly Short woke up to the sound of her communicator buzzing beside her.

She groaned, rolling over and grabbing blindly for a moment on her nightstand until her hand came in contact with the ring. She pushed the button and muttered a groggy, "hello?" into the mike.

"Captain Short!" the commander barked. "Why aren't you at the plaza? And why do you sound like you just woke up?"

"Because you woke me up!" she snapped. "And Saturday is my day off, Commander."

"Well, evil doesn't sleep," Root snapped right back. "And it doesn't take days off. Now get to the plaza. There's been a crisis, and I want you here on the scene. You could be useful."

Holly frowned, sitting up and rubbing her face. She knew she wasn't getting out of this one. "What crisis?"

"The Council Chairman has disappeared," Root said grimly. "We don't know where he is or why he would have went there, but I'm thinking he didn't go there willing."

"So you think he's been kidnapped?"

"All the signs are here," her boss answered. "It's definitely possible. But I want a second opinion. So get the hell in here."

"On my way," Holly responded. "Where do I report to?"

"Council Chambers," he replied, sighing in relief. "Thanks, Captain."

The line went dead.

Holly huffed, slid the communicator on her hand, then rolled out of bed and went to get dressed.

A half an hour later, Holly strode into the Council Chamber.

"There you are," Root said, scowling when he saw her. "About time."

"I got here as fast as I could, Commander," Holly replied, biting her tongue against the smart comment that threatened to come out of her mouth. "Now, what's the situation?"

"Like I told you, the Chairman is gone. Didn't show up to work this morning, and nobody has seen him since last night when he left. He didn't go home last night, either, from what I've heard, which wouldn't be worrying if he had came to work today - I've known him to go to the bar and drink some nettle beers every so often, but he's never just not shown up the next day."

"So you think that somebody took him?" the captain asked.

"Something impaired him from coming," Root said with conviction, his hand resting on the butt of his Neutrino. "Whether he was taken or not, something happened to him."

Holly nodded thoughtfully. "Sounds like it could be a kidnapping. Maybe for ransom? Otherwise, I'm not sure what the reason behind it would be. . . ." She shrugged. "I don't know, honestly. But, if he was kidnapped, whoever has him now holds some serious power of Haven."

"That's what worries me," her boss agreed. "The Council Chairman has the final in everything, and the power to veto anything or put anything into action without consulting the others. They hold power over us. And I am more and more getting the feeling this is what this whole thing is about."

"Correct, Commander," a cold, eerily familiar voice chuckled.

Both of the elves' heads snapped up, looking at the large viewscreen on the wall behind them. It was typically there in case of video evidence during tribunals, but was obviously being used for a different purpose now: for a certain 15 year old human to broadcast himself to them.

"I have to admit," Artemis Fowl continued, the look on his normally expressionless face thoughtful, "you caught on to what happened to your dear Chairman rather quickly. I suppose you know your bosses better than I gave you credit for."

It was then one of the fairies actually spoke. "What do you want with our leader, Fowl?" the commander demanded, his voice surprisingly sharp but calm.

Artemis inclined his head and started to answer, when Holly spoke before him. She had been silent before, not trusting herself to speak, but now she figured she might as well give the answer for him when she knew they both knew it. "Isn't it obvious?" she growled, turning to look at her boss. "He wants power. Money. To control us. And obviously to a severe extent, or he would have just kidnapped another LEP officer instead of the single fairy with the most power and the strongest voice in Haven." She looked at the human and snarled, "I'm right, aren't I?"

"Mostly, Captain Short," Artemis admitted. "However, it didn't really take a genius to figure that one out." He paused, grinning his vampire smile and leaning back in his chair. "And may I add, Holly, it is very nice to see you again. I didn't expect it to be this soon, but oh well. And I'm sorry for interrupting your day off."

"Don't feed me your line, Fowl," Holly spat at him, anger overtaking her and making her whole body shake. "I -"

"Captain," Root interrupted, grasping her shoulder and squeezing it. "Don't start." He looked from her to the human then. "Alright, Fowl, just get to your point."

"My point, yes." The human leaned forward, his face taking up all but a few inches of the screen. "The point is that I now hold the key to controlling Haven. And unfortunately for you, I am not going to be so kind as to ransom him back to you like I did Captain Short."

"Why?" Holly snapped, shaking off her superior's hand stepping forward. "What is your evil plan this time, Fowl? What more do you want from us? You've already taken a huge chunk of our gold - what are you aiming for now? Our freedom?"

"Nonsense," Artemis sighed. "You'll still be free. You'll just be free under me." He paused for a moment, then grinned at Holly. "Though, dear captain, this is not entirely true of you. For you, I have special plans."

Holly tensed. "Is that a threat, Mud Boy?" she demanded, immediately going into fight mode. She shifted positions unconsciously, her hand dropping to her gun, though she didn't draw it. It wasn't like she could shoot him from here anyways.

Root tensed as well, moving forward and putting himself between Holly and the view screen, as if that would help. "Your plan is to take over Haven, isn't it?"

"Something along those lines."

"What does that have to do with me?" Holly demanded again, stepping forward. "What part do I play in this? You say you have 'special plans' for me - what does that mean? Am I supposed to be some kind of. . . of sacrifice, or something?"

Artemis laughed. "Such horrendous thoughts," he clucked, shaking his head. "Really, Holly, is that how you see me? As such a terrible monster that I'd condone to the sacrifice of life? And for what cause?"

"Well, I can't exactly see you being a peaceful ruler," Holly spat at him. "Ruling by fear seems more like you."

"Holly," Root hissed, grabbing her arm and purposely digging his nails into it to get her attention. "Stop."

Holly paid him no mind as she glared at the human on the screen, who was frowning at her.

"Holly," Artemis said seriously, "my intentions for you are nothing of the such. If I ever wanted to sacrifice one of your people to such a cause, then the man I now hold in my care would be my first choice. And not just because his death would be more noticed than yours." He paused. "It will do you good to keep that thought in mind. For future reference."

"And why should I listen to you?" Holly demanded. "You aren't my boss."

"Ah, but I soon will be," Artemis countered, smirking at her.

"I won't listen to you," she shot at him.

"Maybe not now. But we'll see if you are saying the same thing when you are back in my personal care," he told her. "However, until then. . . Goodbye, Captain Short."

Then he cut the connection and the screen went black.

**So, what do you think? Please review! :D**


	2. Chapter 2

**Okay, long time no update. Really long chapter to make up for it though! :D Not much to say, so. . Yeah. R&R! Enjoy!**

2.

Holly stormed out of the Council chamber, furious. Root followed her, grabbing her arm and spinning her around. "Where do you think you are going?"

She frowned at her superior. "I want to go up there and pound that Mud Wretch's face in, but I was actually only going to my office. I figure I might as well get some paperwork done while I'm in here."

"Since when do you care about paperwork?"

She looked him dead in the eyes as she pulled her arm from his grip answering in a deadpan voice, "since it seems I won't be around to do it much longer."

The commander sighed. "You are going to be fine, Short. Don't be so melodramatic."

"I'm not being melodramatic. I'm being serious. If Fowl was telling the truth, then my time free from him, back in Haven, is no doubt almost over." Then she turned and started walking away.

"Captain Short," Root barked, following her. "If you're really that worried about Fowl, why don't you leave?"

"My house would be the first place he would look for me," was her answer. "The plaza is more secure, anyhow."

"Not true," he countered. They turned the corner and stopping in front of her office door, and Root stepped in front of her as she reached for the doorknob."Think, Holly," Root ordered, dropping her formal title for a minute. "When Artemis first met you, what were you doing?"

"Performing the ritual."

"Why?"

"Because you told me to."

"Exactly! For work! And you were even still in uniform." He frowned at her perplexed look, taking her by the shoulders and shaking her. "Holly, your whole first situation with Fowl, you were hostile towards him, and he was cold to you. That will be the side of you he best knows - your officer side." He paused to let that sink in.

She thought about it for a moment, then sighed. "What are you saying, Commander?"

"Fowl is a genius, Captain. Do you really think he's not going to realize that, in a crisis, you're going to feel safer here, with your team behind you, than at home, alone?"

Holly frowned, realizing he was right. "So, what does that have to do with anything?"

"You are going home, Short," Root told her. "If you really want to do your paperwork, take it with you, but you're going home."

Holly blanched. "Seriously?"

"Yes."

"But-"

"Holly," he interrupted. "Don't argue this, alright? I really think you'll be safer at home; you have your communicator if you need to get a hold of me and all that, so just go enjoy the rest of your day off."

"Not much of a relaxing day off any more," she muttered, then sighed. "Alright, Commander. I'll go home. But do me a favor and call me tonight to make sure I'm still alive."

"Okay, Captain. Just go home, and try not to worry too much. I think that may have been part of Fowl's whole plan to begin with - to unnerve you. For all we know, he won't actually try anything."

"I hope he doesn't actually try anything," Holly mumbled, turning and walking away. Root released her and watched her go, silently hoping for once that maybe they could one up Fowl and that his best officer was truly out of the danger zone.

- - - - -

Holly's drive home was eerily silent. She wanted something to break it, something good, and thought about turning on the radio to do just that, but for some reason she couldn't bring herself to reach over and turn the dial. So, the ride stayed completely silent, until she reached her house and got out.

Inside, the silence was blessfull broken by the sound of her plasma in the living room. Going over and turning it up a few notches, to the point where she couldn't hear herself think, she sighed in satisfaction and then went to make herself some lunch.

The rest of the day dragged on that way. Holly was on edge the whole time as she went about her normal day-off routine - clean the house up, do some laundry, load up the dishes in the dishwasher to be cleaned. . .all the little things she didn't normally have time to do while working with Recon. And by the time the day ended, she was ready for it.

Finally, night (or what passed for night in Haven) fell, and Holly was was quick to take advantage of it. She ran into the bathroom and got a shower, then went to her room and fell into bed, thoroughly (though mostly mentally, honestly) exhausted. It wasn't long before she fell asleep.

- - - - -

The same night as the video call, Artemis Fowl and his faithful bodyguard Butler snuck into Haven under the cover of nightfall and broke into Holly Short's flat.

They snuck through the back streets of the little city until they came upon her house. Artemis muttered at Butler to stop, then went up to the little front door.

"There's no security besides the lock on the door," Artemis assured Butler. "I looked into it."

Butler only nodded, so with that, Artemis proceeded to pick the lock and push open the door. He winked at his manservant before walking inside.

Meanwhile, Holly was lying in bed, sound asleep, and blissfully unaware of the two humans invading her home. Too bad it would only last for a few minutes. . . .

Artemis was the first to enter her room and find her. Knowing how sensitive elfin ears are and not wanting to wake her up just yet, he walked over to his bodyguard and tapped his arm, silently motioning for him to go in. Butler nodded, heading into the room his charge had pointed to and going over to Holly, gingerly peeling the blanket off the elf.

She didn't react until he touched her.

Pulling the blanket down to the bottom of the bed, Butler revealed the tiny elf, clothed in just a thin cotton nightgown and curled up tightly in a fetal position at the top of the bed. Her flaming red hair was scattered all around her face and head, the still-damp strands sticking to her face and the pillow. Artemis smirked a little at the sight, then nodded to Butler. He slowly reached down and slid his hands under her, lifting her limp body gently.

At least, his grip was gentle until Holly opened her eyes, took in the situation and the fact that there was a human holding her, then shot into awareness. Before she could fully react, however, Butler was holding her hands above her head, pinned to his shoulder, and pressing her small body tight against his chest with his other arm.

Holly screamed, jerking with all her might against the human's hands, but he was too strong. Artemis waited for her to realize this, checking his nails calmly and brushing some imaginary dust off his suit. Finally, she stopped and took several deep breaths, her arms tiring and realization striking that she was trapped. So, breathing hard, she simply looked at Artemis and waited for him to speak.

He smirked at her. "Hello, Captain Short. Its been a long time since I've seen you in person, and I must say, it's nice."

Holly snarled at him. "It will be nice until I manage to get my hands around your neck, Mud Boy."

Artemis sighed and shook his head, slowly stepping towards her as he slipped his hands in his trouser pockets. "My dear, confused captain. Do you honestly think you'll be able to do that? And even if you could, would you really kill an innocent human?"

"Innocent? Innocent?" Holly laughed bitterly and shook her head. "You're far from innocent, Fowl. Even a stranger could look at you and tell that you're bad news."

Artemis merely laughed. "Perhaps that is true. But that is mostly because of my family name. The Fowls are still known and feared in many places. But, alas, as much as I think a history lesson on my ancestors and myself might be good for you, Holly, I think you know as well as I do that that is not what we are here for."

"Oh yeah, I forgot. You're just here to take me back to the surface and murder me. Honestly, I'm not positive why you don't just do it here, and why you haven't done it yet, but I suppose I'll find out on the shuttle ride up there."

"I believe we have discussed this before," Artemis snapped. "I'm not going to murder you, nor am I going to sacrifice you for my 'evil plan' ,as you put it earlier. If you would cooperate, and give me a chance to explain somewhere safe, then I would gladly tell you my plan for Haven, and what I actually plan to do with you."

Holly licked her lips and looked the human over. He seemed sincere, but that meant nothing with Artemis Fowl. Finally she muttered, "a little cliche, isn't it, Fowl?"

"What?"

"I'm your hostage again," she said, sneering, "and you're going to take me back to you house and lock me up, then you're going to sit down and explain all your plans to me? Sounds like part of some cliche novel plotline."

"Perhaps," Artemis agreed. "But nevertheless, this is exactly what I plan to do." He paused, then added, "and, Holly, I'm afraid that there is one difference between this situation and a cliche novel; you will not be escaping to 'save the world', as I believe the saying goes. I will be sure to keep you tightly in my grasp, especially after we sit down and have our little chat." With that, he smirked at her, and then looked at his manservant. "Come, Butler. We must be back to the manor by daylight, lest Mother find us gone. That would be way too much to explain."

Butler nodded, and lowering the captain's hands back down and placing them on her stomach. "Don't struggle, and don't scream," he warned Holly. "I don't want to hurt you or restrain you, so please, just close your eyes and relax. I won't let Artemis hurt you while we're on the shuttle if you want to go back to sleep."

Holly just nodded and rested her head on his arm, closing her eyes and twisting slightly to press closer to the human for warmth. She didn't know why, but she trusted this human. Maybe it had something to do with their past, the troll attack, or perhaps just his gentleness and kindness now, but she felt that she could trust him. And her soldier's sense of intuition had never failed her before, so she listened to it now as well.

Holly felt rather than saw it as they exited her flat. It may have been underground, but that only meant that when the artificial lights went out, it got seriously cold. Underground they may not have had seasons, but they knew what cold and warm weather was like, and Holly shivered as they went outside.

"Artemis," Butler said gruffly. "She's shivering."

Artemis paused mid-step, turning and walking over to study her. She was shivering. Sighing and shrugging off his jacket, he threw it up to his manservant, who took it and draped it over the elf in his arms gently. However, as soon as the weight landed on her shoulders, Holly jumped, yelping softly as her eyes shot open. "Wha. . "

"Quiet," Artemis ordered, interrupting her as he turned around. "I don't want you waking up the neighbors and having them catch us."

Holly nodded and laid her head back on Butler's arm. The situation may have been dangerous, and she was still afraid and knew she should be on alert, but it also was still the middle of the night and she was just woken up from a sound sleep - she was dead tired still. "What would you do to me if I screamed, Artemis?" she asked groggily.

The human merely glanced at her with a raised eyebrow, then shook his head and continued walking. "I would have Butler cover your mouth for the rest of the way," he replied simply, after a moment. "Why? Are you going to scream, Holly?"

"I don't have the energy," she answered honestly.

Artemis chuckled. "Yes, I suppose we did interrupt your sleep. Go ahead and go back to bed, Holly. I have already told you I have no intention to harm you, so there is no reason for you to be afraid, and I will wake you when we get to the manor if you wish. In the meantime, however, there is really nothing keeping you awake, so sleep."

"Sleep," Holly sighed in agreement. "Fine, Fowl. I'll go to sleep. But you will wake me up when we get there."

"Of course," he agreed. "I said that, didn't I?"

"And I can trust you?"

"Have I ever lied to you before?"

"Guess not." she mumbled, her eyes already fluttering shut. "Night. . ."

"Goodnight, Holly," Artemis replied, and that was the last thing she heard before losing consciousness.


End file.
